Meaning & use
sticky
Tending to stick to surfaces or fingers, typically due to being coated with a sweet or adhesive substance.
See it in a sentence
The children's hands were sticky after eating the caramel apples.
Old tape residue left a sticky mark on the entire wall.
A note on using this word
Sticky can also describe an awkward or difficult situation, as in 'a sticky situation,' beyond its literal sense of adhesion.
Words with a similar meaning
tackygluey
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
dryslippery
Another way to use it
2. adjective
Difficult, awkward, or uncomfortable to deal with.
Explaining the missed deadline to the client was a sticky conversation.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sticky”, then compare your use with the examples above.
Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.